White, along with many of his teammates, are worried about another extended NHL lockout, the last of which cancelled the entire 2004-05 season.

“If we go through another extended lockout, it’s terrible for the fans,” White said Wednesday after an informal skate at Joe Louis Arena. “It’s just going to slap them in the face. They responded unbelievable to the last one. They came back in record numbers. This time they’d be really, really hurt. You hate to see that.

“The players genuinely care about the fans,” White continued. “We’re always doing interactive things with them. We’re fans as well. It definitely hurts the players, it seems, a lot more than it’s going to hurt the owners, because they’re the ones who are locking us out.”

White was among a number of Wings that flew to New York on Wednesday to take part in two days of NHLPA meetings.

The current collective bargaining agreement expires Saturday night.

Both sides did resume talks on Wednesday.

“We kind of got taken advantage of last time just because we weren’t as tight as we are now, we weren’t as informed,” White said. “The deal actually worked out not too bad in the end. Initially, it looked like it was real bad for the players. That was because no one was on the same page.”

The last agreement included a salary cap, along with wage rollbacks for current contracts.

Unlike the last time a deal needed to be worked out, this time the players are totally unified. . There were many factions in the union the last time around.

“Guys are all on the same page, everyone across the board is informed,” White said. “The last one was pretty much the polar opposite, nobody knew what was going on. Things were going on behind people’s backs. It’s a lot different this time around.”

“I think that has a lot to do with all the information we got this summer,” Henrik Zetterberg said. “Everyone was really informed. Guys over in Europe, it was a huge difference from ‘04. Back in ‘04, you really didn’t know what was going on, except what you were reading in the papers. This time around, as soon as we have a meeting or something happens, we have it on our emails later that afternoon. We all know, a lot more guys are on the conference calls, so we can spread the message around really good. Everyone is on the same page. Just having 250 guys going there today is proof of that.”

“I couldn’t even compare it to last time,” Niklas Kronwall said. “I know I was younger at the time and I didn’t have any clue what was going on. And I think a lot of the younger guys felt the older guys would just take care of things, they’ll make a good deal. Now it feels like a lot of the younger guys want to be a part of this and want to be involved. I think that’s great seeing them at these meeting, on the conference calls wanting to make their voices heard.”

The players are also aware of things may be preserved by fans.

“Why would there be any sympathy for us, or for (the owners),” White asked. “We just want our fair share. We’re the workforce out there and we’re the product. We just want a fair piece and don’t want to get taken advantage of.”

“Everyone is hurting if there is going to be a lockout,” Zetterberg said. “Us players know that. A lot of us went through it in ‘04. It’s not just players that are hurting, it’s fans, everyone in the building, all the businesses around hockey are going to hurt. We’re really trying to solve the problem and find a fair deal.”

Zetterberg said the union was working on giving the league a counter proposal either Wednesday or Thursday.

“It’s hard to really expect anything,” said Justin Abdelkader, who was attending the meetings. “We can only put something together and see what happens. We’re hoping for the best and we’re going in with an open mind.”

The NHL has prohibited teams from commenting on labor talks.

Wings still talking to Colaiacovo

The Wings search for a seventh NHL defenseman still has them focused one in particular – Carlo Colaiacovo.

Wings general manager Ken Holland confirmed that they are still talking to Colaiacovo, 29, about possibly coming to Detroit, but that he’s not signed.

The Macomb Daily reported on Aug. 24 that the Wings had offered him a two-year deal worth $2.7 million a season.

The Wings, who are currently $13 million under the salary cap, are in need of a top four defenseman after losing Nicklas Lidstrom (retirement) and Brad Stuart (trade) this offseason.

“We need to sign another defenseman or two,” Holland said in a recent phone interview. “There are some veteran defensemen out there looking for an opportunity. I’m having conversations.”

Colaiacovo, who reportedly is looking for a three-year deal and was originally offered a one-year deal by the Wings, hasn’t played more than 67 games in any season.

He’s not the top-tier defenseman the Wings were looking for, but he’s probably the best option left on free-agent market.

New deal soon for AbdelkaderAbdelkader has been waiting on getting a new deal from the Wings.

Now there seems to be a deadline for when he’ll get it.

Wings general manager Ken Holland said he anticipates getting a deal done prior to the CBA expiring on Sept. 15.

“I’ve talked to his agent (Wade Arnott) a few times in the last couple of days and I anticipate we’ll get something done soon. We’ve been close for a few days.”

The deal will be for four years.

Abdelkader, who didn’t file for salary arbitration, earned $825,000 last season. The Wings were hoping to sign him for under $2 million a season.

“Hopefully it’ll be in the next day,” Abdelkader said. “I’m waiting to here.”

Some truth to reportWith the Swedish second division announcing that it will allow NHLers to sign short-team deals if there is a lockout came a report from a well-known Swedish writer, Linus Hugosson, that Kronwall would sign in that division if there is a work stoppage.

Kronwall denied that, but added it could be a possibility.

“No, the only thing I’ve said is I have three possibilities, one being Europe, one being Russia and one being a team I played for before I got over here, Djurgardens,” Kronwall said. “I think it’s speculating. I’m hoping it doesn’t get that far and we’ll get something done over the next few days.”